Rumour has it… Ilse DeLange will represent the Netherlands?

This, the third installment of the ‘Rumour Has It’ series, is probably the greatest rumour going around at recent times. Ilse DeLange, one of the Netherlands’ most popular artists in recent times, is apparently going to be the follow-up to Anouk and will be the Dutch representative at Eurovision next year in Copenhagen. Though nothing is confirmed until the 25th of November, we’ll investigate the rumour and tell you what the fans would think about Ilse possibly becoming the fourth artist to be confirmed for Eurovision 2014!

Is it true that Ilse will be the Dutch singer in Copenhagen?

So, on early Tuesday afternoon, it was disclosed that the Dutch artist would be “revealed” later that day; twenty days before the scheduled announcement, which was also disclosed the same day. Come half seven CET, it was spilled that Ilse DeLange had been lined up by TROS to represent the country in Denmark next year. Of course, this was received with mixed views, with some people refusing to even believe the announcement until TROS officially confirmed who would be the Dutch singer on November 25th, but even Eurovision.tv had stated that Ilse was one of the main artists being considered, but insisted that it was only under speculation. Since then, fans have been debating who should represent Holland and you’ll see some of them at the end of the article. Most of the opinions, inevitably, have been about Ilse, a multi-award winning singer.

This is Ilse’s newest music video; ‘Blue Bittersweet’ and it’s quite an introduction into the 36-year-old singer’s bio. She shot to fame in the early 90s when she released a country album in her native land that was recorded in Nashville, USA. Over the course of fourteen years, she went on to release six more multi-platinum albums and has now become of the Netherlands’ biggest stars and is now a coach on the Voice of Holland. When it comes to Eurovision, though… well, let’s just say Anouk isn’t her biggest fan, as she proved when she said in an interview:

Who else could do it? Ilse? Pfft. Fuck that. That’s not gonna happen. She has no personality.

Anouk has since retracted her statement, but it’s pretty clear that Ilse has both her supporters and opposition. With her new greatest hits album, ‘After the Hurricane’, there are definitely some songs that would be a definitely possibility for Denmark, but the main one that I’d personally see her do at Eurovision would be ‘I’ll Know’.

So what are the chances of Ilse representing Holland? Well, there’s no doubt that she is one of the country’s biggest stars and let it be said that following after an artist that helped a country qualify for the final after they were starved of the sweet taste of the final for nearly ten years is a pretty hard job to do. But from her career and the fact that she’s still a popular artist in the Netherlands that still releases album regularly (Engelbert, Bonnie, I’m looking at you here!), this could work to her advantage if she’s picked. Plus, her style of music is rarely heard in the Eurovision. To be honest, I think the closest thing to what Ilse does that’s has actually been in Eurovision is Joan Franka! Anyway, she’d be a pretty good artist for the Dutch, but if it was my own choice, I’d have picked one of our own choices for the Netherlands. But you don’t want to end up like the UK; sending ‘has-beens’ to the show! Anyway, nothing will be revealed until November 25th, when AVRO/TROS will officially announce who will represent the Netherlands in Denmark… but it does seem likely Ilse is at the top of the list.

Your views:

So what do you think of the rumour about Ilse DeLange representing the Netherlands?

What do you think about Ilse?

Seth Wezendonk from the Netherlands: Ilse would be a great choice I think Also, some singers high on my wish list: Glennis Grace, Sharon Doorson, Sandra van Nieuwland, Marco Borsato, and many, many more!

Jack Cuffe from the United Kingdom: She would be a great choice indeed!

Nelly Takis from Greece: I would love Glennis Grace back!

Rafael Vivas from Venezuela: She’s [Ilse is] great!

So many of the fans that had views were in favour of Ilse representing the Netherlands, but there is a subsequent rumour that Shirma Rouse (Anouk’s female backing vocalist in Malmö) could be a possibility for the Dutch too. Any of these artists would be great to go, and maybe some of our recommendations will be selected, but we won’t know anything for sure until the 25th of Novermber comes around. So what do you think of the rumour? Are you in favour or against Ilse representing Holland? Feel free to tell us what you think by commenting below!

Well it’s gonna be interesting who the Dutch pick, as they could be a huge pop star like Ilse or maybe a new artist on the scene. Either way, I’m looking forward to seeing what they bring to the table.